Grilled Mac and Cheese

Ingredients

• 1 cup elbow macaroni (or more, depends how many you are feeding)
• 1 Tablespoon butter
• 2 cups grated cheddar cheese
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 slices of bread for each sandwich
• 2 or more slices of cheddar cheese (enough for a thin layer of cheese slices to fit the bread)

Directions

1. With the recipe, you make the mac and cheese ahead of time so it has time to cool before using in the sandwiches.
2. To cook pasta, fill a medium size pot 2/3 of the way with hot tap water. Add 1 teaspoon salt to the water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and stir with a wooden spoon to be sure noodles don’t stick to the bottom of the pot.
3. Always make sure there is lots of water in the pot when cooking any pasta so the pasta has room to roll around while it is cooking.
4. Turn the heat down, enough to maintain a boil and stir every so often to prevent noodles sticking. Do not cover the pot. After 8-10 minutes, take a piece of pasta out of the water, allow it to cool and do a test for doneness.
5. Bite into the pasta. If it is too hard to bite or you see a white center, it needs to cook a little longer. When it cooks all the way through it is ready and cooked el dente.
6. Put the pasta into a strainer. Shake out excess water.
7. Stir in the butter and the cheddar cheese. Do a taste test and salt and pepper to suit your taste.
8. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Grease the parchment paper lightly with butter.
9. Spread the mac and cheese out onto the baking sheet about 1/2-3/4 inch thick. Cover with plastic wrap and place into the refrigerator to cool.
10. Once the mac and cheese and cold, it will stick together.
11. Remove the sheet and slide the parchment paper onto a flat cutting surface. Using a sharp knife cut through the mac&cheese and parchment paper so you form squares that are about 1/2 inch smaller that the size of the bread you are going to use to make the sandwiches.
12. You can use all at once if you are making lots, or you can stack the layers of mac&cheese, still on their parchment paper and place into a container with a lid and refrigerate until needed.

To make the sandwiches

1. Preheat the oven to 500F.
2. Have ready either a large cast iron pan or some other oven proof baking pan.

For each sandwich

1. Butter each slice of bread on one side.
2. Place one slice of buttered bread on a flat surface with the buttered side facing out.
3. Place a layer of cheese on the bread.
4. Place a mac&cheese slice.
5. Place another layer of cheese on the mac&cheese.
6. Place the 2nd slice of bread with the buttered side facing out.
7. As the sandwich is cooking, the cheese melts and holds the sandwich together.
8. Place the cast iron pan into the oven to preheat. You want the pan hot when you place the sandwich on it.
9. When the pan is hot, open the oven and carefully place the sandwich onto the heated pan.
10. Bake for 1-2 minutes, turn over and bake another 1-2 minutes until the outside of the bread is well toasted/grilled and the inside is hot with the cheese melting. Watch carefully as it will burn.
11. Remove from the oven, cut in halves and serve.